New AG has serious fixing to do at DOJ
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In the heat of a tenure marked by controversy and contradiction, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation yesterday, offering no explanation and no response to questions.
Gonzales has taken that tack before — most recently stonewalling congressional inquiries into the politically motivated dismissal of at least eight U.S. attorneys.
For weeks, Gonzales insisted he could not recall key events surrounding the firings. His story shifted once e-mails emerged showing his chief of staff had been working with the White House on the firings for more than a year, and that he attended an hour-long meeting on the dismissals only days before the firings.
Gonzales' departure was long overdue. Consider his record:
In the end, it seemed Gonzales could not separate his role as the nation's attorney general and head of the Justice Department from that of personal counsel to the president.
Given the exodus within the department inspired by Gonzales' tenure — including vacancies at the top three posts and the resignation of the head of its civil rights division — his successor has much to repair.
